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Topics - merzperson

I rode the TransAm in 2010 and stayed at The Cookie Lady's place in Afton. When I got there she had just recently gotten very sick or injured. I felt terrible for her, and unfortunately did not get to meet her although a friend/neighbor/caretaker let me and some fellow tourers stay in the Bikecentennial 'museum'. If you've been there you know how amazing this place is!

Anyway, I have been looking around the web and haven't found anything about June Curry in the last year or two, and would love to know if she has recovered and if so how she's doing these days. Also, just out of curiosity, if anyone has recent photos of the 'museum' to see if I can spot what we left there.

I rode the TransAm solo West to East last summer (2010) and my worst experience with people the whole trip was in Colorado, especially the more rural areas.

Specifically, Kremmling, CO sticks out in my mind. This was the single least friendly town I went through on my entire ride. It was already getting dark when I visited the sheriff's office to ask if there was anywhere I could pitch a tent for the night in or around town. A police officer sitting in his cruiser rolled down his window and told me, with a smile of satisfaction on his face and a chuckle, "There's a city law against that." He told me I could either go to the RV park (and pay $12 to sleep on gravel beside RV generators) or "get out of town". I ended up pedaling just out of town (already dark) and pitching my tent in the desert, private property or not, on top of a bunch of little cacti, and was eaten alive by swarms of mosquitoes. I got out of there as fast as I could in the morning.

I was just a 20-year old kid. Would these people treat their own kid like that?

I ended up sleeping in 3 public restrooms during my 7 days in Colorado. People were giving me shit left and right. I felt unwanted, which made me want to get out of the state and never come back.

Riding through Kansas afterwards was like a 180-degree change, and it made me want to stay there as long as I could (and spend money there, stimulate the economy...).

I know that a bunch of Colorado is very friendly towards cyclists, and I'd never judge an entire state (or even an entire city) by the experiences of just a couple days or a couple rotten people, but it has had a lasting impact on me. I'm wondering, has anyone else has experiences similar to these?

I'm thinking about doing a year or so long solo tour through all of Europe sometime in the not-too-distant future, probably after I graduate from my University. I have many questions, and could also use some general tips and information from people who have experience in touring abroad.

My hope is to get to Europe and ride around and explore with a few specific places in mind where I have contacts and spots I'd really like to see. Instead of saving up a bunch of money for the trip, I'll take what I have and when I get close to running out I'll stop wherever I may be and find a simple job like working on a farm or washing dishes at a restaurant or whatever I can get. Is this idea realistic?

Since I plan on traveling inexpensively, I would prefer to camp as much as possible. And by camp, I mean really camp, not pay for a campsite. I rode the TransAm last summer and camped for free every single night of the trip with only one or two exceptions, would this even be possible in Europe and would it be enjoyable?

I have basically all the gear I'll need. What else do I need to be thinking about before I start making this trip idea a reality?